Denmark defend their title at the 27th IHF World Men’s Handball Championship in Egypt. Here’s a complete guide with preview and schedule.
The 2021 World Men’s Handball Championship brings together 32 nations in Egypt from 13-31 January.
Attention turns to North Africa after a bumper few weeks for handball fans with the Women’s Euro 2020 followed by a festive Champions League FINAL4 in December.
Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallists Denmark, led by Mikkel Hansen, Niklas Landin and Mads Mensah Larsen won their first world title on home soil a year ago.
They will be favourites to retain their title, but face plenty of challengers to their crown.
They include European champions Spain, a Sander Sagosen-led Norway who have lost in two straight World Championship finals, perennial contenders France, a determined Germany, Sweden and Croatia.
And with the tournament expanded from 24 to 32 teams for the first time, there’s even more scope for a surprise champ.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is set to attend the handball showpiece to see how major competitions are being hosted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics less than seven months away.
Scroll down for a full preview, schedule, qualified teams, who to watch, where to watch, and everything else you need.
Contents
- 1 Who qualified for Handball Egypt 2021?
- 2 IHF World Championships 2021 Groups
- 3 Egypt 2021 Handball: Schedule
- 4 How does qualification work?
- 5 Egypt 2021 Handball Worlds: Who are the Favourites?
- 6 Top Egypt star Sanad on why Tokyo squad could be the nation’s new dream team
- 7 Who are the best handball players in the world?
- 8 The talented Mr. Hansen: An artist on the court
- 9 Handball World Championship of firsts
- 10 Egypt 2021 COVID-19 Measures: Gel and private jets
- 11 Where: Egypt 2021 Venues
Who qualified for Handball Egypt 2021?
Here are all 32 teams who have qualified for the 2021 World Men’s Handball Championship:
Africa
Algeria (ALG), Angola (ANG), Cape Verde (CPV), DR Congo (COD), Morocco (MAR), Tunisia (TUN)
Asia
Bahrain (BRN), Japan (JPN), Qatar (QAT), Republic of Korea (KOR)
Europe
Austria (AUT), Belarus (BLR), Croatia (CRO), Czech Republic (CZE), France (FRA), Germany (GER), Hungary (HUN), Iceland (ISL), Norway (NOR), Portugal (POR), Spain (ESP), Slovenia (SLO), Sweden (SWE)
North America and the Caribbean
United States of America (USA)
South and Central America
Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), Chile (CHI), Uruguay (URU)
Wild cards
Poland (POL), Russian Handball Federation Team (RHF)
IHF World Championships 2021 Groups
Preliminary Round Groups:
Group A: GER, HUN, URU, CPV
Group B: ESP, TUN, BRA, POL
Group C: CRO, QAT, JPN, ANG
Group D: DEN, ARG, BRN, COD
Group E: NOR, AUT, FRA, USA
Group F: POR, ALG, ISL, MAR
Group G: SWE, EGY, CZE, CHI
Group H: SLO, BLR, KOR, RHF
Egypt 2021 Handball: Schedule
The teams are divided into eight groups of four and play each other once in the preliminary round – three games each from 13-19 January.
The top three teams from each group advance to the main round while the teams who finish last in their group contest the President’s Cup.
The 24 qualified teams are divided into four groups of six and play off from 20-25 Jan, the top two teams of each group advancing to the knockout stage.
The quarter-finals begin on 27 January with the semi-finals on 29 January and the third-place and gold medal matches taking place on 31 January.
How does qualification work?
The teams are divided into eight groups of four and play each other once in the preliminary round – three games each from 13-19 January.
The top three teams from each group advance to the main round while the teams who finish last in their group contest the President’s Cup.
The 24 qualified teams are divided into four groups of six and play off from 20-25 Jan, the top two teams of each group advancing to the knockout stage.
The quarter-finals begin on 27 January with the semi-finals on 29 January and the third-place and gold medal matches taking place on 31 January.
Egypt 2021 Handball Worlds: Who are the Favourites?
A European team has won every men’s handball world title since the tournament’s very first edition in 1938.
In fact, Qatar’s incredible run to the final on home soil in 2015 – where they finished runners-up to France – was the first time a non-European team had ever made the podium.
After their shock exit in the group stages of Euro 2020 last January, Denmark are expected to return all guns blazing.
Danish star Mads Mensah Larsen told Kolding Storcenter, “I hope we take the defeat from the European Championships with us and use it as extra fuel.”
With Denmark out, Spain shone at the 2020 European Championships, winning and atoning for missing the Rio 2016 Olympics by qualifying for Tokyo 2020.
Croatian hero Domagoj Duvnjak led his nation to second place at that tournament and they will fancy their chances of making the podium in Egypt too.
Norway, Germany, Sweden, France, rising handball nation Brazil and Pan American Games champs Argentina also have high hopes.
Also keep an eye on tournament hosts Egypt who stunned Sweden at Rio 2016 with their Under-19 team taking the world title in 2019.
Their star man who believes this current side can eclipse Egypt’s previous ‘Dream Team’ which finished fourth in the 2001 World Championship.
Top Egypt star Sanad on why Tokyo squad could be the nation’s new dream team
Egyptian handball player Mohammad Sanad believes the men’s team can build o…
Who are the best handball players in the world?
Egypt 2021 will give us another chance to see the greatest in the game shine.
The Denmark team is stacked with the likes of Hansen, Landin, Mensah Larsen, Rasmus Lauge and Kevin Møller.
Croatia captain Duvnjak and Norway’s Sander Sagosen – so good even Norwegian scientists have tried to work out why will be buoyant after winning the EHF FINAL4 with THW Kiel.
Barcelona lost out to Kiel in the Cologne final and they provide Spain with the considerable talents of goalkeeper Gonzalo de Perez Vargas, sharp-shooter Aleix Gomez Abello and Raul Entrerrios.
The European champions also boast handball’s answer to basketball’s Gasol brothers Alex and Dani Dujshebaev, PSG star Ferran Sole, plus experienced leader Jorge Maqueda Pena.
For the first time in almost 20 years, France will be without the magic touch of Nikola Karabatic.
He tore his ACL in October while playing for PSG, but said at the Champions League Final Four that he hopes to be back on court in May ahead of Tokyo 2020.
Without him, they will look to the experience of London 2012 gold medallist Cedric Sorhaindo and rising talents like Barcelona right-back Dika Mem and centre-back Romain Lagarde.
The talented Mr. Hansen: An artist on the court
Mikkel Hansen is an Olympic, World, and European champion. The Dane has jus…
Rio 2016 bronze medallists Germany will be buoyed by Kiel’s Champions League triumph with eight home players in the squad, and by stellar performances from FINAL4 MVP Hendrik Pekeler and Steffen Weinhold.
They also have arguably the best left winger in the game in Uwe Gensheimer, bringing that X Factor.
Then there are the Brazilians who ply their trade at top European teams including Jose Toledo at last year’s EHF Champions League winners RK Vardar.
Barcelona pair Haniel Langaro and Thiagus Petrus are others in a squad filled with talent.
Portugal is another young team full of explosive potential with left back Andre Gomes and Barça pivot Luis Frade two to watch out for.
There are so many more exciting players: Iceland’s Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson and Aron Palmarsson, Sweden’s
We could go on and on.
Handball World Championship of firsts
As handball continues to grow in reach and popularity around the globe, this World Championship will help push the sport even further.
For the first time in history, 32 teams will take part meaning that we’ll see a more inclusive and international tournament than ever.
Another first is that 20 players instead of 18 are allowed on definitive squad lists to allow teams to plan better in case of positive coronavirus tests.
Cape Verde, Morocco, DR Congo, and Uruguay will all make their tournament debuts, while the United States make their first appearance in 20 years after being nominated to represent their region.
2020 Asian Championships runners-up Bahrain will play in their consecutive World Championship with Portugal returning after an 18-year hiatus.
A first that nobody saw coming is that the tournament will be held during a global pandemic for the first time ever, but months and months of work have gone into making Egypt 2021 a safe space to play.https://d-11963321883272463576.ampproject.net/2012232217000/frame.html
Egypt 2021 COVID-19 Measures: Gel and private jets
Hosting an international tournament of this scope during a pandemic isn’t easy, and on top of the things we’ve all become used to like masks, hand gel, and distancing, unique proposals and promises have been made.
Hotels which host squads in bubbles will be sterilised by the Egyptian Ministry of Health, teams will receive “exceptional reception measures” at Cairo Airport and, dramatically, private jets have been promised to get teams to Egypt in case of airport lockdowns.
Once in Egypt, precautions for the tournament include:
- Appointments of an event chief medical officer, IHF COVID-19 officers, arena medical teams, hotel medical teams and team COVID-19 officers.
- Testing policies that include mandatory negative COVID-19 PCR test results every 72 hours with special procedures for suspected or confirmed cases.
- Precautions for training halls and arenas including constant disinfection, entrance and exit regulations and dividing the arena into five separate zones.
- Match precautions such as no handshaking before and after the match, an expanded bench area, mandatory mask usage except for players, team officials and referees on the field of play.
- Media precautions including regular COVID-19 PCR tests, no media activities during training, virtual press conferences and no Mixed Zones.
Where: Egypt 2021 Venues
The 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship will be played in four venues in Alexandria, Cairo, Giza and the New Capital.
Alexandria: Borg Al Arab Sports Hall (capacity: 5,000 spectators)
Cairo: Cairo Stadium Sports Hall (capacity: 17,000 spectators)
Giza: Dr Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall, formerly known as 6th of October Sports Hall (capacity: 5,200 spectators)
New Capital: New Capital Sports Hall (capacity: 7,500 spectators)
Via: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/features/detail/handball-everything-you-need-to-know-world-mens-championship-egypt-2021
